Brent may rise toward US$100 per barrel

Reduced numbers: Saudi Aramco engineers at the Hawiyah natural gas liquids recovery plant in Saudi Arabia. The country’s output will drop to nine million bpd in July from around 10 million bpd in May. — AP

SINGAPORE: A global shortfall in crude oil supply is set to deepen in the third quarter, as the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia pledged extra output cuts from July in a move likely to push Brent towards US$100 (RM457) a barrel by the end of the year, analysts say.

Oil prices jumped more than US$1 (RM4.57) a barrel yesterday as the Saudi energy ministry said on Sunday its output would drop to nine million barrels per day (bpd) in July from around 10 million bpd in May, the kingdom’s biggest reduction in years.